Growing Pains
by HeyyitsJayy
Summary: For sixteen-year-old Erik Vine, life has been easy enough in his attempts to become a Pokemon Biologist. When the fate of his pokemon rests on the journey he never had, Erik leaves to become the greatest Hoenn trainer yet. T because I'm paranoid.
1. Seasonal Changes

"Deerling!"

A small groan issued from a lump of sheets on the bed. The small deer pokemon jumped onto the bed and started to poke the lump on the bed, causing more groans to issue from the bed. After a few more minutes, a human head emerged from the safety and warmth of the covers to look at the pokemon. Red hair in total disarray, the human gave the pokemon a hard look that was softened by the effect of just waking up. The small deer wasn't paying attention. Instead she was prancing about, proud to have woken up her trainer.

"Alright, alright! Belle, do you want to go outside?" The trainer's voice was slightly croaky from just waking up, but the meaning wasn't lost on the Deerling.

Chirping slightly, she gracefully jumped off the bed and pawed at the door. Running a hand through his hair, the boy got up and hauled himself to the door to open it for himself and his pokemon. Belle sprinted down the hallway and sat herself down at the back door. The boy caught up with her after and let her out to graze outside.

Sighing, the boy walked into the kitchen and sat at the table overlooking the back yard and watched his Deerling graze and scamper about in the morning light.

"Erik, have you noticed?"

The boy jumped and looked behind him. In the doorframe was his mother, a maternal woman in her forties with dark brown hair starting to streak with gray. She was already dressed for a day out in the field, dark brown jeans and a green shirt to help hide her appearance in the woods. Erik's mother, Kennedy, was a pokemon biologist that specialized in the field of the life cycle of insect pokemon.

"Noticed what, Mom?"

"Belle's coat is turning again." Erik glanced outside. Belle had come closer to the window, allowing a better view of her coat. Amongst the drab browns in the Deerling's winter coat, he could see the first patches of pink.

"Hm, you're right. I guess it's time to get the brushes out."

"Erik, what else does that mean?"

"There's something else?"

"Honey," she finally detached herself from the frame and came to sit next to Erik. "That means this is her sixth spring."

The blow hit home for Erik. The family used to live in the Unova region, but since had moved out to the forests outside Oldale City in the Hoenn region. When Erik was ten, he decided to forgo his journey and stay with his parents to learn more about pokemon. That spring, a mother Sawsbuck had been killed by some unknown force, leaving her newborn Deerling alone. The baby pokemon was found by Erik's father, who was studying seasonal effects on local forest populations. He brought the baby home and Erik cared for her until fall came. Usually they would let the pokemon go, but Erik pleaded for them to keep little Belle. His parents relented, saying that he could keep Belle until her sixth spring. He could keep her if he went on his journey, or if she evolved during that time. They gave him such a large margin because they didn't want to rush him, but they thought living with the Deerling would make him want to go out. Obviously, she hadn't evolved, and Erik hadn't even thought about his journey. He would have to make his decision before her coat turned bright pink like it did every spring.

Erik's train of thought was broken with the soft sound of scratching from the door, a signal that Belle wanted to be let in. When he opened the door, he wasn't expecting another pokemon to walk through the door with the deer. A puff of brown fur alerted Erik to Ren's presence. Ren the Eevee had been a household pokemon that had taken on a strong liking to Erik. Pressing himself against Erik's shins as he walked through his legs, the Eevee purred as he slinked into the house. Belle pressed herself against Erik as he closed the door.

Erik had been through enough seasonal changes to know that he probably had a day or two before the color change was finished. Spring was obviously on its way; most of the snow had melted by now, though the weather was still on the chilly side. Small early spring flowers were starting to burst from the ground. Sighing, Erik grabbed the set of grooming brushes out of his room and called Belle into the kitchen, the only place in the house without carpeting. Already the house had a multicolor look to it, the result of near twenty seasonal Deerling changes.

* * *

><p>Twenty minutes and a large pile of Deerling hair later, the pink that had barely been seen in Belle's coat had become much more pronounced. Erik probably had a day left before either he left home or Belle had to be released into the wild. During that time, Belle could tell that Erik was distracted with something. She nuzzled his knee. "Deerling?" she asked, as if she wanted to know if he was okay.<p>

Erik sighed and rubbed her head. "It's alright, girl. I'm going to make it okay," he said. Erik walked over to the broom and dustbin sitting by the door, his face showing the internal conflict he was battling out in his head as he swept up the Deerling hair into the dustbin and into a small basket to be left out for the Swellow and other bird pokemon to line their nests with.

* * *

><p>An hour later, Erik had collected his parents together in the living room. Belle was at her usual place at Erik's left knee. Ren was lazily sprawled along the coffee table, watching everything happen through lazy movements of his head. Erik was fidgeting as he stood in front of his parents. Belle could sense something was wrong, but she kept her mouth closed. Better to wait it out.<p>

"Alright, I have something to tell you guys," Erik addressed his parents, trying to calm his nerves. Here was the big moment. A silence enveloped the room.

His mother was the first to break it. "Yes, sweetie?"

"I've decided to go on my journey."

Both his parents didn't react for a minute, and then both broke into wide grins.

"Good to hear, son!"

"I'm so proud of you, Erik!"

Erik allowed himself a small smile. "I'll be taking Belle, of course, and I'll be le-"

"Take Ren with you too, son," said his father, cutting his son off.

Erik looked taken aback. "But, but he's not mine!"

"You know how much he likes you; you're almost his trainer anyway," came his mother.

Ren perked up, realizing the people were talking about him. They wanted him to… go somewhere? What in the world? No, no they were kidding, obviously. He was a house Eevee, he didn't want to go out into the world and do silly things like the pokemon on the magical box that showed moving pictures.

Erik nodded. "Thank you, I'll start getting ready and the three of us will leave first thing tomorrow."

Erik's mother nodded. "We'll call Professor Birch tonight and have a Pokedex here for you when you leave. Oh, Chris, I'm so happy Erik decided to go!"

Erik's father nodded. He got himself up and clapped his son on the back. "Son, you're going to grow up a lot on this journey. You'll learn about pokemon and people. And for your mother's sake, remember to call when you can," he looked back for a moment before quietly continued; "you know how she gets."

Erik nodded, trying to control his laughter. In his mind, he was still trying to grasp the concept that tomorrow; he'd be out of the house for a long, long time.

He was going to become a real Pokemon Trainer.

**A/N: First story! Please R&R if you'd be kind enough. I'm accepting OCs for random battles/ traveling companions. PM me their name, age, gender, type (trainer, coordinator, ect.), pokemon info, personality, and history. I hold the ability to not use your characters, so don't flame if I don't use your OC.**


	2. No Turning Back

"Are you sure you have enough clothing, Erik?"

"Yes, Mom,"

"What about rain gear?"

"Yeah."

"Boots? PokeNav?"

"Yes, Mom. I have everything I'm going to need, I swear!"

Kennedy Vine shook her head. "Alright. Oh, Chris, he's finally going."

Chris Vine stood impassively next to his wife during most of her fussing. Now that the realization was plain as the weather, a flicker of emotion played across his face. Nodding, he squeezed her shoulder before walking up to Erik.

"Here's Ren's pokeball. Be safe out there, son. Be open to new experiences and people. And, don't forget to have fun." Christopher Vine was not a man of many words, and the few he uttered were to be taken seriously. Erik nodded and accepted the red and white pokeball that was handed to him.

"Alright, I'll be off then," he said. When he took his first step, a red beam of light emerged from his belt. Belle, now only a few tiny patches of brown away from being a fully pink spring deerling, emerged.

"Honey, do you have Belle's brushes?"

"Yes, Mom, they were the first things I packed!" Before she could interrupt again, Erik was walking into the forests, headed towards Oldale Town.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, the duo emerged from the trees. Oldale Town was a quaint place, barely anything more than a few houses, a marketplace, and a Pokemon Center. Still, Erik loved the place. The houses were charming, as were the people that called it home. It was a close-knit community, and everyone knew everyone; even the Vine household couldn't escape their radar.<p>

Although Erik and Belle had taken a beaten trail, the melting snow had done a number on Erik's black sneakers and light blue jeans. Belle seemed totally unaffected by the trip, her coat perfectly dry and spotless. _'Typical,'_ Erik thought to himself, _'a girl who can't get dirty.'_

Walking through the streets of the small town gave Erik a sense of a final good-bye. He was here to register himself for the Pokemon League, and he'd be off on his way to Petalburg City and the rest of his journey. He'd spent the last four years of his life in Hoenn, and many a day in Oldale, so the trip to the Pokemon Center gave him little trouble.

As he walked through the sliding glass doors of the Pokemon Center, he was greeted with a homey lobby. While Belle walked along with Erik for a moment or two, she was inevitably drawn by the oddity and multitude of the scents in the lobby that she was going this way and that, smelling everything. Erik left her to do her thing; she'd only be a nuisance if he didn't.

He walked up to the nurse's desk and rang the bell. A blissey walked through the doorway, a nurse's cap on her head. She gave Erik a look that plainly asked what he wanted.

"I'm here to see Nurse Joy to register for the Pokemon League."

"Blissey!" the pink and white pokemon yelled out. It startled Belle, who was busy shoving her nose into a pile of magazines. The deerling tried to casually walk over to Erik's legs, looking like she was trying to cover up her being startled by the Blissey's yells.

A young woman walked out of the double doors the pink pokemon had walked out of earlier. She smiled when she saw who it was. Even if she was working the Pokemon Center at all hours, the Oldale Nurse Joy was still an inhabitant of the city and shared many of the quirks that were common ground for the citizens. She knew exactly who Erik Vine was, even if he never had any real reason to come to her Pokemon Center. "So, Erik Vine, what do I owe the honor for?"

Erik rubbed his fingers together under the counter, a nervous habit he had had since he was young. Even though he knew this Joy, her warm smile was making him nervous for some reason. "Well, I'm here to- to register for the League," he explained.

The nurse's face lit up a bit more. "Oh, well then! Let me see your pokedex!"

Erik fished the thin, red, rectangular device from a pocket in his backpack. It had been updated to recognize every species of pokemon. Even though there weren't naturally many pokemon from other regions in Hoenn, trainers from every region flocked to the region for its rich gym and contest culture. Nurse Joy accepted it with a nod and plugged a cord into some port in Erik's device. A few minutes of crazed typing later, Erik's pokedex was returned to him. "I'm glad to see you've finally decided to head out. We'll be rooting for you!"

Erik nodded. "Thanks, Nurse Joy."

"You know where to go from here?"

"Yup! Head to Rustboro City for first gym battle against Roxanne."

The nurse nodded. "Well then, I hope to see you soon, as the Champion of Hoenn!"

Erik nodded to show his gratitude for the compliment that Nurse Joy thought he could reach that far, and to show that he understood. Ruffling the patch of fur on Belle's head, he said his goodbyes and walked out of the Pokemon Center, feeling that he was ready for the challenges ahead.

"Deerling, Deer, Deer!" Belle called out excitedly, knowing that from this point on, there was no turning back.


	3. Just Water in a Brook

They had probably been walking towards Petalburg for two hours, and already they were hopelessly lost. Everything seemed to look the same to Erik. It wasn't helping that Belle was scampering about, sniffing everything. It was hard enough to keep track of one hyperactive deerling, but keep track of both the deerling and a map? Yeah, that wasn't going to happen. Hopefully they'd either run into someone that knew where to go, or they'd find some landmark that wasn't the vast array of trees that seemed to populate the route between Oldale and Petalburg.

Sighing, Erik folded up the map yet again. The sun was already reaching its zenith, which meant it was probably somewhere around noon. The weather was thankfully clear, and the sunlight was having a blast finishing off the small, stubborn remainders of winder. Mud was everywhere now, thanks to all the melting snow from the last few days. Erik was getting used to his foot sinking into the mud every few steps. After the first few times it happened, he made sure to keep his shoes tied extra-tight to avoid them coming off and getting stuck in the mud.

Erik looked around. The sound and movement of his deerling was fading away. Instantly, worry started to gnaw at the back of Erik's mind. He was straining his eyes to look for the pink in the mostly-brown underbrush, hoping for some bit of her coloration to show where that girl had gotten off to now. Nothing was showing itself, and the worry started to push itself to the front of Erik's mind. Trying to push it aside, he started going in the direction he last saw Belle, cursing under his breath for taking his eyes off of her. She usually wasn't like this. Belle was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. Whenever Erik took her for walks in the woods around their house, she would stick close by. Her small size meant she was easy pickings for some tough pokemon looking for a quick snack.

Erik took another step, and his shoe got stuck. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath, trying to get his foot free. While struggling with his foot, Erik didn't notice the pink fur slinking towards him. By the time he managed to get his foot out of the mud, it was too late.

"Deerling!"

Erik was totally off-guard, and the loud cry from Belle made him jump. Then the silly pokemon crashed into him. Belle had been hoping he'd jump out of the way, but obviously, her trainer wasn't as bright as she thought he was. Erik was sitting in a nice pond of mud. "Belle! You scare me out of my wits by disappearing, and then you tackle me into the mud!"

Belle's face went from the Deerling equivalent of smiling, ears perked, to her ears falling and a sad expression dominating her eyes. "Deer…"

Erik smiled. He couldn't stay mad at Belle for long. Her pity party was too amusing for Erik, used to seeing his deer pokemon happy and jumping around. "Alright, alright, I forgive you, Belle."

Instantly, the deerling's expression brightened.

"But now we're going to have to find water so I can clean the pokeballs and my pants. Just stay by my side alright?" Belle nodded. Looking around, Erik tried to make a guess as to where they should start heading. Spinning around, he chose a direction at random. "Uh, let's go this way, Belle."

"Deer?" Belle asked. The pokemon's head moved to the side as if she was asking Erik why that direction.

Erik paid the pokemon little heed as he started walking towards whatever lay in that direction. Hopefully a large pile of rocks, or a stream or lake that would provide a reference point to their location was close by. They couldn't be that far away from Oldale, could they?

Not three hours into his pokemon journey and he was lost. Erik wondered, as if to spite himself, if everyone got as lost as he was? He strayed off the beaten path for two seconds, two seconds! He just wanted to see if he could avoid a large and unsightly patch of mud on the main trail by walking around, and from there, the path was gone. He hadn't panicked at first, hoping to maybe see the path if he kept going straight. Then he hoped to catch another pokemon for his team, hopefully a Flying-type who could fly ahead and scout out the trail. So far, Erik hadn't seen a single sign of a pokemon, Flying or not.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, a rustle could be heard in a bush. Getting excited, Erik hushed the deerling next to him, making her stop. Grabbing a pokeball on his belt in his free hand, Erik motioned to Belle to stay put. Approaching the bush, he hoped to scare whatever was in the bush out into the open so Belle could battle it for him to catch. A foot from the bush, a taillow flew out of the bush. Erik saw his chance. "Pokeball, go!" he yelled and threw it at the small bird.<p>

Instead of hitting Taillow, it opened up and shot a red beam towards the ground. A shape that seemed half canine and half feline appeared in a bunch of brown fur. The pokeball rebounded and Erik caught it as it came towards him. Erik, in his excitement, had drawn out Ren's pokeball rather than an empty one. He was crushed; he failed the first part of being a trainer, catching pokemon.

Ren looked around after appearing from his comfortable pokeball. His fur poofed out like it did when he was scared. Erik rolled his eyes. How was he supposed to use an eevee that was afraid of mud? He watched as Ren picked himself up around the muddy ground and started to sprint towards him.

Erik didn't think anything of the eevee running towards him, nor did he expect Ren to jump and climb up his trainer's leg to his shoulder, which caused Erik a bit of pain as the eevee's little claws dug through the fabric. When Ren was comfortable, laying across both of Erik's shoulders, Erik grabbed the pokeball and returned the eevee, and made a mental note to remember to grab pokeballs from the end of his belt, where they didn't hold anything yet.

* * *

><p>After hours of exploring later, Erik stopped. He could hear the chuckle of a brook, which meant that there had to be water close by! He was getting thirsty, and he finally found his landmark! He started to run towards the sound. Belle had been looking at some leaves with some interest before she realized that her trainer wasn't going that way, and charged after Erik.<p>

The brook was really close, maybe ten feet from where they were. Both banks were firmly encased by the forest, and was running on a slight incline towards what Erik hoped was a lake. But first, he had something he had to take care of. The brook was shallow and slightly rocky. Taking out his canteen, Erik refilled the water, not caring about "microbes" and whatnot. He didn't have time for building a fire, nor did he have a Fire pokemon with him to make an instant fire. With the problem of dehydration fixed, he and Belle headed leisurely downstream.

* * *

><p>It wasn't too long after that they found the lake. It was pretty large, and thankfully the forest receded from the shore, creating a sandy area and a nice strip of grass. Strangely, the lake already had water plants lazily drifting in the fading sunlight. Sunset was still an hour or two off. Ignoring this, Erik walked down to the closest shore and quickly took off his pants, replacing them with a pair of shorts. Taking off his mud-coated shoes and replacing his belt on his shorts, he waded barefoot into the lake and started to clean off the mud from his pants.<p>

When that was done, he raced back to the forest to find a suitable branch for laying them out to dry on, and a nice camp site for the night. There was no way he was going any farther tonight, and wanted the chance to explore around the lake. Even though it was obviously springtime, Erik was pretty sure that even in Hoenn's warmer climates, plants should not be already opening their large leaves on the surface of lakes just yet. Belle was grazing when he started walking towards a large group of the leaves and trotted just behind Erik.

When they got near the lake, the leaves seemed to drift farther from shore than they had been. That was enough to start setting the alarms in Erik's mind. Plants didn't have the ability to just crawl where they wanted. At least… most plants couldn't. Fishing out his Pokedex from his pocket, he opened it up, hoping it would have an explanation. A picture of a small blue blob with a yellow beak and a large lily pad growing on its back. It then read out in a feminine electronic voice, _"Lotad, the Water Weed pokemon. This pokemon lives in ponds with clean water. It is known to ferry small pokemon across ponds by carrying them on the broad leaf on its head."_

Erik grinned. He knew they couldn't be regular plants! For once, he was doing something right. But, how was he going to get the lotad over to battle? Belle couldn't swim, he knew that for a fact, and she didn't have anything that could hit them from a distance. Grimacing, Erik looked down at the pokeball that contained Ren. At least there wasn't mud around; all the water drained straight into the lake rather than sit in puddles. "Go, Ren!" Erik yelled, releasing the Eevee once again.

As soon as he was out, Ren sat on his haunches and stared at Erik as if he was saying, "You _have_ to be kidding me, right?" Was Erik really going to make Ren do something? As if.

"Ren, use Shadow Ball on that lotad!" Erik commanded, pointing to one that was coming to investigate the trio. Ren did nothing but shoot Erik a glare. Erik looked at Ren, saying, "If you don't, I… I will throw you in that lake, Ren."

The eevee stiffed. Gathering up his energy, the eevee drew shadows towards him and formed them into a dark, pulsating purple ball. He set it off towards the leaf, which was much closer than before. The attack missed, however. It hit the surface of the lake about three inches away from the lotad, and made the water shoot up a few feet and come back down in a lazy mist and spray. The lotad seemed to get angry that the little fur ball had attacked it, and quickened its speed. Then, it stopped and tilted its head above the water. It opened its beak, and a red beam was emitted, aiming straight at Ren.

Ren had no idea what to do. He'd never been in a battle before, so he didn't have the best reflexes. Erik didn't have time to tell the eevee to move before the Absorb hit. When the beam faded away, Ren looked angrier than anything. That little… thing had attacked him, and drained him of energy! That was not going to go down for Ren. In a rage, he started to build up shadows again into a Shadow Ball. Releasing his attack, no one was surprised at the terrible aim of the eevee as the Shadow Ball missed. This time, in his rage, the ball was close to a foot away from the lotad, and disrupted the lake's surface.

Erik was starting to get frustrated as Ren refused to listen to him, going on his own accord. Erik guessed Ren was working off what he watched on the TV, and was failing to properly mimic the pokemon he watched regularly.

"Ren, stop! We aren't going to get anything done if you don't listen to me!" Erik shouted. The eevee ignored him, again. Instead, he shifted his position so the lotad was behind him and started kicking sand at its face with his Sand-attack.

"Ren, listen to me!"

The eevee watched the lake, looking for a sign of the lotad, as it went underwater at the start of his attack.

"Ren!"

The eevee still wasn't listening.

Erik walked up and picked up the eevee, who squirmed in his trainer's arms, watching for Lotad. When he realized what Erik was up to, it was too late.

Splash!

Ren was now wet. While he hissed and spat about what his trainer did, Ren walked back onto the beach and attempted to stop Belle from laughing. Ren shook himself, though his fur hung in wet strands. Erik called out, "Are you going to listen now?"

The Eevee shot him a dirty look, but he knew better than to ignore him now.

Erik sighed. He knew that Ren was only listening to him out of fear, but he could take care of that later. Now, he had to think of a battle plan. He knew his pokemon's moves, and his ability. Ren's Adaptability meant that most of his current attacks would do more damage. He didn't have much time, though. The Lotad appeared as a wave crashed onto the beach. "Ren, Quick Attack!"

The eevee ran like the wind at the lotad. Here, his aim didn't matter as much, and he finally scored a hit on it. Lotad flew back a foot or two, but didn't appear to be that hurt. The lotad stood up on its six feet and stared Ren down. Suddenly, it moved forward a few inches, an attempt at an Astonish. Ren gave it a face to show its tactics weren't working. He was a Normal-type, and Astonish wasn't going to work on him. Lotad's look of surprise was all Erik needed to give a command. The eevee didn't show any sign of listening, but started sprinting at Lotad again with a Quick Attack.

It was much easier the second time to get up, and Lotad opened its beak again. The red laser of Absorb stuck Ren. Ren could feel his energy draining, while Lotad could feel energy returning to its body. Finishing the attack, it watched the eevee warily.

"Shadow Ball, Ren!"

Ren gathered the Shadow Ball quickly now, as he got more practice. Aim was still not his best quality at the moment, and the attack glanced off the lotad, enough to do some damage. It seemed the attack mostly enraged Lotad even more, if that was possible. It scooted backwards into the shallow waves. A bright aura of changing colors surrounded it. Letting of a yell, the aura turned light blue. It opened its beak, and a powerful spray of bubbles show out in a Bubblebeam.

Unlike Ren, the beam struck home. The eevee was flown backwards, and only missed the ground because of Erik, who caught the flying pokemon. Ren looked hurt, but he attempted to wiggle out of Erik's reach. Instead of letting Ren fall on his back onto the ground, he gently put the eevee on the ground, whispering the command, "Quick Attack."

Ren charged at Lotad like he would at a new can of food. The blinding speed of the Quick Attack left little room for the opponent to move. It didn't help its case that it had six legs to move in synchronization either. It was sent back a good three feet before landing in the water. As soon as it floated back up, the lotad prepared another aura, and it turned light blue again. Another Bubblebeam shot out, aiming at Ren. The eevee managed to move his tail this time, not enough to get a blow to the leg. He collapsed on the sand.

"Eevee!"

Erik knew better than to move towards Ren. He was going to either be called back, which was the smart option, or he was going to fight and perhaps really hurt himself. "Ren, do you want to stop?"

Ren shot him a look that plainly read, "Hell no. Bring me back and I will fucking kill you." He was in battle-mode for the first time in his life.

Erik grinned. "Alright, then, Shadow Ball! Aim for the face!"

Ren's face mutated into the eevee equivalent to a sneer as the pulsating shadow orb grew above him. Lowering it down, he took his aim and spiked it, grimacing as he stood on his leg that had taken the damage. It wasn't a direct hit to the face, but Ren did manage to hit Lotad's side. Ren's face showed how shocked he must feel. Whatever he felt, Erik had to be doubling it. He never really thought that Ren was a viable fighting pokemon. Obviously, he could be, given enough training.

Lotad shot out another Absorb attack, this time a wider beam than before, as if it were desperate. The ray hit Ren's tail, but it was enough to drain some energy back into its body. The multicolored aura took its place around Lotad's body and this time, it turned light brown. A small rumble had Belle and Erik dive for cover. When everything cleared, Erik realized that somehow Lotad had used Earthquake.

Ren was tottering around amidst the broken bits of earth. Erik ran up to the pokemon as he fell towards the ground, obviously fainted. Now, the battle fell to Belle. Like Ren, she wasn't trained much, though a lot of her playing with Erik was probably close to what trainers might do with their pokemon. In any case, her age and energy levels would keep her up in battle.

"Belle, you up for this?"

The deer pokemon nodded. Erik knew what she must be thinking, that she was going to avenge Ren. "Alright then, use Take Down!"

Belle charged at Lotad, who had no hopes of outrunning Belle. It flew backwards, but Erik was not going to let it get up. "Jump Kick! Finish it!"

Belle leaped into the air, and as she came down, struck out with her right hoof, catching Lotad and sending it farther. This time, it didn't get up. Running, Erik unlatched the sixth pokeball on his belt, making sure it was the right one. "Pokeball, do your thing!" He threw it at Lotad, and it bounced off and opened. A red light came from somewhere inside and took Lotad with it and the ball fell towards the ground.

The red light flickered in the center circle as the pokeball shook. Erik wasn't quite sure what was going on in there, but he could bet Lotad was fighting against the pokeball.

Three, four, the pokeball kept shaking. Then, the light dimmed and turned off totally. Picking up the ball, he said, "Brook. Because that's how I found you."

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><p><strong>AN: ****Please review! I would like to know what you guys thought about the Ren-Brook battle, and the chapter in general.**


	4. With Me or Without Me

**A/N: Hey guys! So I know ya'll are reading this, because I'm a totally amazing stalker. Yeap. That's why. Anyway, I'd like if you could possibly drop me a review on this chapter and let me know how I'm going. I'd love to know what you guys like/dislike about this story and my writing style, and how I can fix the dislikes.**

**So I guess I should put up a disclaimer, that Pokemon is NOT mine, but my characters are. I mean if this was mine, it wouldn't be fanfiction, now would it? :P**

* * *

><p>Erik had spent the night with Belle curled next to him. Her fur had finally gone from the smell of winter bark to the refreshing scent of newly opened wildflowers. The deerling's presence had been a comfort for Erik, as the woods weren't as inviting at night. He was sure that some random duskull or shuppet was going to get him in his sleep. Belle had been king enough to humor her trainer and play sentry. She also still felt that she had to wake up Erik at the crack of dawn; else he'd sleep in the whole day.<p>

He rubbed his side; Belle had been quite liberal with her jabs today. "Did you have to be so rough?" he complained.

"Deer!"

Erik shook his head. "You don't have to break my ribs to get me up."

"Ling."

Sighing, he sat back down on his sleeping bag. He ran his fingers through his hair to try and get the unruly mess somewhat tame. Now, he had a choice. He could either continue on to Petalburg or take the day to train his pokemon and hope and work for Brook's trust. He knew he couldn't put off the Brook issue for too long. He wasn't quite sure how the lotad felt about everything and it had taken some damage in the battle. He'd have to heal her and Ren soon, before things had the potential to get serious.

"Bell, what do you think?"

"De?" Her face showed her obvious confusion.

"Should we stay here for the day and train, or press on?"

"Deer. Deerling."

Erik still had no idea what his deerling was saying. "Go?"

Belle shook her head. "Deer."

"Stay?"

"Dee! Deerling."

"What do you say to meeting Brook?"

"Deer!"

"Alright, then," Erik reached under his pillow for the three minimized pokeballs. The only problem he could find was that he wasn't sure which pokeball went to which pokemon. Guessing, he picked up one and made it grow to full size and released the pokemon inside. Thankfully, Brook appeared.

"Lotad! Tad, tad." As soon as the lotad was released, it scuttled on its six legs, trying to get its bearings. It started to break down, getting more and more confused and worried about what was going on and what had happened.

Erik tried to touch the lotad's leaf but to no avail. He'd been hoping to calm it down, but all he got was a low, deep growl from the back of its throat. He recoiled at the sound. It didn't seem right for such an angry sound to be coming out of the little creature. Belle, being her fearless self, ignored the growls and walked up to the lotad, earning more growls.

"Deer? Deerling! Deer, deer, ling!"

"L-lotad."

"Deer?"

"Lo."

Erik watched as the two continued their conversation. He hadn't noticed, but the lotad seemed to be inflating itself to make it look bigger and possibly more scary. He only noticed because he could watch it deflate to normal size. An idea struck him; he didn't even know the gender of his newest pokemon. "Belle, can you do me a favor?"

She turned to look at him. "Deer?"

"Can you ask Brook if it's a girl?"

A "Deer?" directed towards the lotad was her response.

The lotad paused, "Tad."

Belle looked up at Erik giving a nod to him as an answer.

'_Well that's one problem solved,'_ Erik though to himself. At least he was doing something right and guessed at Brook's gender properly. Now all he needed was the lotad's trust and they could be done with it. He really wanted to get going, but he knew this was a more important issue.

Hoping that now Belle was distracting Brook, he reached out his hand to touch her leaf again. This time she didn't back up, or inflate herself, but gave another growl to warn him. At least there was some progress, right? Erik didn't keep contact with Brook for long, as she seemed twitched and he recoiled, thinking she was going to bite him or something along those lines. As soon as his hand was off of her, the growl stopped.

Erik wasn't sure how he should continue. It wasn't like he could reason with her; that would be a one-sided conversation for him. There wasn't enough time in the world for him to play twenty questions for each of her replies. He was going to have to work with her sooner or later, and he wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

"Say, Brook?"

The lotad gave him a glace but otherwise stayed where she was.

"Would you like to stay with me and Belle?"

The lotad slowly nodded her head.

"Then stop being so angry and come here!"

The lotad didn't look like she was impressed.

"I want to heal your wounds. You still look like you're limping on the one side Ren hit you."

The lotad sighed in defeat and limped over to Erik. He could tell she was still distrustful of him, but he didn't care. Right now, he was going to help her if it killed him. He was counting on Belle calming her down and informing her of what was going on. As long as that happened, she shouldn't be too bad to handle. All good things come with time, right? He fished out a Potion from his backpack and softly misted the legs that were hit with the Shadow Ball the day before.

"There, is that better?"

Brook flexed her legs and seemed a bit more relieved. Perhaps Belle did too well of a job. "Lotad. Lo-tad."

Erik smiled. "So would you like to try and get some training in?"

The lotad looked at him like he'd spoken another language, which he did, but she seemed to understand English well enough. He smiled. "You know, train. Like, prep for battle?"

A bit of understanding softened her gaze. "Here, we'll show you. Belle, want to show her how it's done?"

"Deerling."

* * *

><p>Erik and Belle had finished showing Brook what the meaning of "training" was. The landscape was still scarred from the previous battle yesterday. The beach had some new rocks erupting from the sand; there was a crater a couple of yards away, and another in the grasses right by the beach. Brook seemed excited about this prospect, although she still showed signs that she wasn't fully trusting Erik.<p>

"Alright, Brook! Come over here for a moment," Erik called out. He didn't even know what his lotad knew. Once the little pokemon had waddled over, Erik pulled out his pokedex. It read off four attacks; _Astonish, Growl, Absorb, Nature Power_. So that's what that magical aura attack yesterday must've been. Nature Power. That could be pretty helpful.

"Alright, Brook, use Nature Power!" He watched as the lotad was shrouded by the aura, which this time settled on green. A Seed Bomb resulted, which nearly hit Erik in the face. "Ah, watch it, Brook!"

The lotad was trying to conceal her laughter.

* * *

><p>Within the first five minutes of working with Brook, Erik found out two things. One, he was going to have to learn every possible outcome of Nature Power, and two, Brook seemed to either have really great or really bad aim with ranged attacks, as most nearly hit Erik either in the face, head, or stomach. He'd quickly discovered that putting her in a grassy setting meant a Seed Bomb, ponds meant Bubblebeam, and sand meant Earthquake. But that was all he knew, and wasn't looking forward to getting to play 'throw all attacks at the trainer' any time soon.<p>

It wasn't helping that Belle found way too much enjoyment out of this, especially when the last Bubblebeam burst in his face. It hadn't hurt, but the loud noises surprised him. That's when he decided it was a good idea to have Brook train in a mock battle. She could either go up against Belle or Ren. Belle would be an incredibly hard opponent for Brook; Erik had attempted to train Belle before giving up and she became a pet. Ren, on the other hand, was a lazy little eevee who needed battle practice. "You guys stay there," Erik called as he ran back for his pokeballs.

As soon as he came back, he maximized the pokeball containing the eevee and released him. Instantly, the eevee's hackles rose as he caught sight of the lotad. Similarly, Brook inflated herself, tipping towards Ren to look as big as possible. Ren tried to take a step towards Brook, but he collapsed on his leg that caught the blunt force of yesterday's Bubblebeam.

"Ren, come here!" Erik yelled as he ran up to the eevee. He scooped up the little fur ball and attempted to soothe the eevee. It didn't work. Erik knew that Ren was famous for his grudges, but never this bad. Maybe it was because he fainted or that Brook injured him. Whatever the reason, they were going to have to be dealt with.

"Alright, Ren, calm down," Erik said in what he hoped was a soothing tone. "She's not going to hurt you. She's a teammate. Friend. You're going to like her, okay?"

The eevee gave him a look that said he clearly wasn't interested. Brook was still a little lotad balloon.

It was obvious the two didn't like each other. He could go down the route of violence and let them battle it out, but he doubted that would help. There wasn't any way that Ren was going to like Brook quickly no matter which way they went, as he was the master of holding a grudge.

Those issues aside, Ren's leg probably needed healing. Erik took the eevee in his arms over to his backpack and fished out the Potion he'd used on Brook. There was still a good half of a bottle left. Misting over Ren's leg, the relief was as plain as day on the eevee's face. Still, Erik knew it wasn't enough.

"Ren, are you going to make nice with Brook?

"Vee." Well, no one could say that Erik didn't try the diplomatic attempt.

It was obvious that the two weren't going to play nice in a mock battle. It would get really vicious really fast, and Erik didn't want either pokemon taking major injuries. Maybe splitting them up would do the trick?

"Belle!"

"Deer?" the deerling looked quite curious as to what her trainer wanted as she pranced over.

"Can you have a mock battle with Brook for me? Tell her to work on her speed and strength. Don't rough her up too much, alright?"

"Deer-ling!"

"You'll call me if anything happens?"

"Deer," she called as she scampered away.

Erik turned to Ren. "Alright, buddy. It's accuracy boot camp for one little eevee."

If Ren had any skin, it would've paled right there.

"Yup, you're going to start your training, too."

* * *

><p>It was getting close to sundown when they all collected back together. Erik noticed that even though all his pokemon were tired, Brook and Ren took opposite sides of camp to eat the remains of food Erik had. They were going to have to get to Petalburg soon. Erik wasn't sure if he could eat dead pokemon. The thought wasn't too pleasant, and there weren't that many available. He finally brought out his map.<p>

Scanning through Route 102. There was only one large body of water on the map. They were still a mile or two away from Petalburg, but… there was a path nearby! They were back on track. The day hadn't been totally a waste, Brook was catching up to the others, and Ren could hit a target with Shadow Ball half of the time, while those times he did miss were usually a close one. A few long hours of little break can do that. Still, he was slow to respond to commands, but getting better at forming Shadow Balls. Maybe that was because there were so many shadows in the forest. Regardless, there had been overall progress, and Erik couldn't be prouder.

"Guys," Erik broke the silence. All three looked up. "By tomorrow night, we'll be at the Pokemon Center in Petalburg!" While none of them knew exactly what that meant, they could hear the excitement in Erik's voice.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Alright, I wasn't as impressed with this chapter as some of the previous ones. Still, lemme know what you think. Feedback is the only way to improve! Eh, I feel like there was something else I wanted to say but I can't remember.**


	5. Safe Harbors

**A/N: Sorry for the late update (time wise, at least I got it up on Saturday!) I had a busy day today and just started school again, so didn't have much free time.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon. If I did... this wouldn't be fanfiction, would it?**

* * *

><p>"C'mon, Belle! It's just up this hill, I swear!" Erik called out, not the first time. Ahead of him, the sun was just beginning to set, casting a deep orange light on Petalburg City. Belle was practically dragging herself along behind her trainer.<p>

"Deer, deerling!"

Looking around, Erik saw how tired his pokemon was. Smiling, he called back. "C'mon slowpoke!"

"Dee!" She called back, clearly not amused. It'd taken most of the day for them to reach this spot, and the normally hyperactive deerling was too tired to make it into the city.

"Want to rest?"

"Deer!"

Erik grabbed the proper pokeball from his belt. "Belle, return," he called out. A red beam absorbed the pink deer pokemon and she vanished into the ball. Problem taken care of, Erik looked back down at the sprawling city.

Most of the city looked more like a suburban town to him. Trees were everywhere amongst the buildings that must've been houses, stores, and offices. He could see the giant building that couldn't be anything but the Pokemon Center. At least tonight he'd be sleeping in a bed. Two nights in the early Hoenn spring weather was enough for anyone. The day was warm enough, but nights were freezing, even in Erik's nice sleeping bag. Tonight, he'd be warm, clean, fed, and safe. What a relief!

Using momentum from the hill, Erik started running towards the city, hoping to get in before dark and the Center lent out all of its rooms.

The sliding glass doors of the Pokemon Center slid closed as Erik stepped into the building. The Center's lobby had a few trainers about, lounging around in the chairs set around a cozy fire. Erik could see a few pokemon out and about, relaxing with their trainers. Before he got to the counter, he managed to see a red lizard pokemon he couldn't identify, a taillow, and a zigzagoon. When he got to the desk, he paused. He'd never had to ask for a room at a Pokemon Center before, and wasn't sure how to properly go about asking for one. The Nurse Joy on duty smiled warmly at him when she looked up from her typing.

"Can I help you?"

Erik took a second before speaking. "Can you heal my pokemon? Two took some blows to the side and are having trouble walking, and the other was attacked by a wild pokemon on our way here."

"Of course!"

Erik handed her the three pokeballs and then remembered the other reason why he was here. "Um, if it's not a bother-"

"Yes?"

"Do you have a room I could stay in?" Erik cringed inwardly at his statement. It just sounded so… pathetic.

"One second." The nurse tapped away madly at the computer before looking back up. "I'm sorry; there are no more single rooms. If you like, there are some single trainers in double rooms."

"T-that's fine. I don't mind."

"Excellent! Now..." the nurse trailed off as she scanned the small crowd of trainers. She must've seen who she wanted to find, as she brightened for a moment before calling out, "Ryoto!"

The trainer with the red lizard looked up. "Yeah?"

"Come over here."

The trainer casually pulled himself off his chair and sauntered over to the counter, his pokemon looking absolutely bored. As soon as he reached the counter he asked, "Whaddya want?"

"I want you to share a room with this trainer."

"Why?"

"We gave you a double room."

"So?"

"We're booked and this trainer needs a room."

"How's this my problem?"

"Because you don't have anyone you're rooming with."

"Again, why is this my problem?"

"Because I'm making it." Erik had never seen a Nurse Joy look so much a seviper. It was quite terrifying.

It seemed that the other trainer wasn't used to seeing the sight either, because he backed down after a few seconds. "Fine."

"Thank you." Nurse Joy turned right back into her usual self. "I'll need you trainer card, dear."

The shift in her demeanor unnerved Erik, but he pulled out his card out of his pocket regardless. She took it and put it through some sort of scanner and gave it back to him. She pulled out what looked like a key card and swiped it through a different scanner and handed it to him. "Sorry about that, dear. I'll go take a look at your pokemon. Your room is 202 on the second floor." With that, she took the pokeballs and walked through the doors behind the counter.

Erik shifted his gave back to the other trainer. He had to be at least eighteen, Erik decided. He was about Erik's height, thankfully, but the age difference was obvious. The trainer casually looked over at Erik, light green eyes sizing him up. "What do you want?"

Erik stuttered out a, "N-Nothing."

The older boy snorted. "Name's Dominic Ryoto, but call me Dom."

"E-Erik Vine."

"Char." It apparently was the lizard's turn to talk.

"Oh," Dom looked down at his companion like he forgot the creature was there. Although how someone could forget about a lizard that stood over three and a half feet was beyond Erik. "That's my charmeleon."

"Char!"

"He's saying something along the lines of 'Go away,'"

Erik had to keep himself from squeaking in fear and muttered an inaudible excuse before trying to leave. He never got the change, as Dom grabbed his shoulder.

"I'm just kidding! I have no idea what he's saying, anyway."

Oh."

"Who had the- oh, there you are!" Saved by the nurse.

Dom had gone up the room about ten minutes earlier, leaving Erik with some much-needed alone time. Erik had decided that he was going to stay in the lobby. That is- until he heard about dinner. As soon as that little message had reached his ears, he was already down the hall towards the dining hall.

He was attacking his burger before he realized he forgot about his team. The shame that he'd forgotten his team spilled over as he selected a pokeball from his belt. He knew it was Brook's, but he didn't release the lotad quite yet. He looked down at it. Brook may have been a little sour still, but that didn't mean that Erik still didn't want her. He wanted to know everything about the little weed. What she liked to eat, do, what she liked and disliked. Everything. It had been the same way with Belle, and then Ren three years after. Pressing the button to maximize the pokeball, he released Brook. He could let Ren and Belle out later, when he didn't need all his attention on his newest pokemon.

Brook looked around to gain her bearings before looking at Erik. "Lotad?"

Erik smiled. They were getting somewhere already, as Brook hadn't inflated herself. "You hungry, Brook?"

"Tad!" The vigorous nodding from the lotad meant an affirmative.

"Alright, then. If you let me pick you up, we can sneak through the food and you can pick what you want, alright?"

The lotad hesitated for a moment before reluctantly agreeing to the plan.

Erik hadn't been sure what exactly lotad eat. Apparently they were vegetarians, as Brook was extremely stubborn with getting a salad with chesto berry dressing after tasting all the available ones. She was a very picky eater, sniffing most things and rejecting them instantly.

After putting Brook at the table and asking for her to wait, he went back to the selection and picked out asparagus and salad with mushrooms and pecha sauce for Belle and some meatballs for Ren. He placed the dishes next to him and released the two pokemon. Predictably, Ren fluffed out and Brook inflated herself as soon as the two saw each other, while Belle happily rubbed against Erik's leg. Ren bounced up onto the seat next to Erik, and Brook scooted down the booth as far as she could. Belle leaped up nimbly and sat on Erik's lap, forcing him to share his dish space with the deerling. It might not have been the best team dynamics or way to eat, but Erik was just happy to be with his team for the moment.

After all of them had a dessert of payapa ice cream for everyone but Brook, who had wiki ice cream. Everyone had eaten everything they'd been given, except Brook who wouldn't eat any of the vegetables in her salad. Ren was starting to doze against Erik's leg, and Belle was stealing licks of the remainder of Erik's serving. Brook was starting to doze off, but shook herself for a moment and slowly waddled up to Erik, looking like she was having a major internal debate with herself. One side apparently won because she sat down next to Erik and pressed herself up against him, issuing a small growl to both Ren and Erik. His work with the lotad was still far from finished, but it seemed less like a hopeless cause now.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I wasn't as happy with this chapter as previous ones, mostly because I decided to go a different route then my intended one. For a last-second change, it was as bad as it could've been. Credit for Dom Royto cannot be given to me. Rather, my good friend sent him in (he doesn't have a FFN as far as I know).**


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